My Generation

Caroline Clancy
2/13/09
Mr. Bailey
Honors Essay Writing
My Generation

In first or second grade, almost all Americans learn that it is unfair to stereotype a large group of people based on the actions of a few. Entire generations are often stereotyped. I feel as though I am not typical of my generation, for all of the members of generation Y, commonly referred to as generation “why?”, are thought to be wasteful, tardy, and technology-obsessed.

Most people are aware that nothing lasts forever. Generation Y is stereotyped as wasteful of limited resources. I understand that many people of my generation are extremely wasteful, but on the other hand, many are not. I feel as though I am not wasteful. During lunch, it is interesting to take a peek into the trash can and see how many kids have thrown away perfectly fine food. It sickens me to think that my peers are throwing away an apple with a bruise or two, when starving children in foreign countries would give anything to eat that apple. It is not just food being wasted. Many people in my generation are wasting oil. Teens often go out to drive around, just because they feel like it. What they do not realize is that soon, there will be no more oil. I encourage my generation to try to not throw any perfectly good food away and to carpool to school and work in order to conserve our planet’s limited resources.

My biggest pet peeve in the world is being late. Whether it is being late to class, practices, even doctor appointments, I simply cannot stand being late. Generation Y is thought of as always being late and not caring about timelessness. Even right now, when I glance out the door, I can see about ten students roaming the halls, with late passes clasped in their hands. I think it is extremely rude when people, of any generation, say that they will be at a certain place at a certain time and then fail to do so. I know that many people have busy lives, and sometimes emergencies happen; I don’t have a problem if they are late for those kinds of reasons. But sometimes, I can just tell that the late-comer was in no rush to arrive on time. For example, the swim team has practices before school at five o’clock in the morning and it is a struggle for the participants to arrive to school on time. The other day, when three swimmers came late to class, sipping Dunkin Donut’s coffee and munching on bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, I knew that they had not even attempted to arrive on time to school. My generation is profoundly known as the late generation, and I don’t want to be judged based on the actions of others.

Many of my friends are utterly obsessed with their Ipods and cell phones, while I am not. In fact, the other day I was finishing up my homework when my cell phone started to vibrate. I answered to find that my best friend’s mom had just taken her phone away for an hour and she was nearly in tears about it. It horrified me when she complained of feeling empty and disconnected from the world without her phone, even though she was talking to me on her home phone and chatting with friends on Facebook. Another example of the technology obsession typical of my generation that I do not comprehend occurred on Christmas Eve. One of my friends had been looking forward to a Christmas party she was hosting weeks in advance. In the middle of the party, her phone stopped working and instead of waiting for the party to end and then dealing with her technology “disaster”, she left her guests and went upstairs to transfer all of the data from her broken phone onto a different phone. I am not saying that technology is a bad thing, because it isn’t; I just feel that sometimes people become so consumed in their cell phones, Ipods, or Xboxes that they forget about more important things, like spending time with family, or even just doing their homework. For me, my cell phone isn’t much of a value to me. I find it incredibly rude when I am in the middle of a conversation with someone and they stop listening and begin texting. Then, afterwards, they look up from their cell phone, dumbfounded, and ask what I was just saying. Unlike many others in my generation, I am not preoccupied with technology and would much rather talk to someone in person than text, email, or instant message them.
Around the world, generation Y is being stereotyped as careless, late, and reliant on technology. I recommend that my generation starts to get its act together. I find it very unfair that the actions of a few have created a stereotype for an entire generation. If more people of generation Y start to prove that they do not fit the stereotype, then eventually, the stereotype will be wiped away.